What Lies Beneath: The Lost City of Barcino

Tucked away in the teeming-with-tourists Gothic Quarter of Barcelona we followed the narrow, twisting streets, backtracked along the cobblestones and still managed to turn ourselves around looking for one branch of the Museu D’ Historia De Barcelona. Finally, we saw a plain brown sign with an arrow pointing the way to the entrance affixed to an unobtrusive building that was, indeed, the Museum of History of Barcelona. Go figure, this marvelous museum tucked away in the oldest part of the city which is itself just jammed to the gills with gargoyles, arches and cherubim. Could it be that the citizens of the city are a bit jaded about their own rich culture?

And here was the museum, housed in A GOTHIC PALACE built between 1497 and 1515. Serving as the public visage of the museum, the Casa Padellás was dismantled and moved, stone by stone, from its original location in order to preserve it during the construction for the International Exposition of 1929.

However, while the new site in the Gothic Quarter near the Placa Del Rei (King’s Plaza) was being readied the ruins of the original city of Barcino were discovered, one of the largest Roman settlements ever found. The archeological importance of the site was immediately understood and the palace was placed upon pillars to allow for the excavation and preservation of the ruins. In 1943 the Casa Padellás became the headquarters for Barcelona’s Museum of History with the excavated city of Barcino lying beneath it

We stepped inside the museum and paid for our tickets (with one of us getting the geezer discount) then spent a moment to figure out how to change the audio tour handheld recorders to English. After thumbing through the introductory pamphlets we viewed a video then took the elevator down two levels … and took a giant step back in time. From this point we would slowly but inexorably climb back up to the street level and in the process pass through this incredible time capsule.

Beneath the Placa del Rei the immense subsoil museum (4,000 square meters) is devoted to the archeological history of the original city and its people and contains the remains of the fortress walls, homes, workshops and religious structures. Excavated between 1930 and 1960 and painstakingly conserved in this underground site, the timeline covers the period from the creation of the original Roman city to the establishment of the religious structures in the sixth century, a rather imposing sweep of time in one setting.

The story and the tour began with the founding of the Roman city of Barcino between 15– 10 BC under the reign of Emperor Augustus. It was a colony for soldiers who had completed their obligations to the empire, their families and slaves. Built at a defensive location on the top of a hill it was fortified by a stone wall with the city laid out in a grid pattern as was the Roman preference. As we gazed around at the stone walls, walkways and columns before us we noticed that, surprisingly, the Romans recycled stones, tiles, pottery and other rubble as fill inside the walls as they expanded the city’s perimeter; little or nothing was wasted. In that respect, a rather thrifty and industrious group of folks.

entrance to shops

walkway between shops

aqueduct

Outside the homes of both the wealthy and the humble the city swirled around them as a place of social engagement and commerce but it also contained the minutiae that’s part of day-to-day living. Although women lacked a political voice they did possess legal rights; they could buy and sell property and they were very visible in the life of the city. The city streets passed by numerous shops run by Roman citizens and one of the first excavations that we came upon was a public laundry. The clothes were washed and bleached in large round vats with ashes, lime and ammonia mixed with water. After the laundry was done the water would be washed down a drain and flow into an aqueduct which carried it outside the city to maintain sanitation. And the source of the ammonia? (We loved this interesting little tidbit!) In the streets, containers were assigned for urine collection from the public at large, which, when mixed with lime, resulted in an ammonia solution that was used during the laundering.

vat in garum factory

Also on display was a shop for processing garum, a fermented fish sauce used as a condiment atop all sorts of dishes and beloved by Romans. The mechanics were a bit messy but the fish (and leftover parts too) and shellfish were smashed, mashed, pulverized and marinated in large vats, macerated in salt and left to rot or be cured and then sold commercially. According to the lore, the smell was so rank during the fermenting that the citizens weren’t allowed to make it in their own homes – hence the shops. Definitely an acquired taste!

maceration tanks for garum

In one section of the ruins were public baths for both men and women: hot water baths (caldarium), warm water baths (tepidarium) and cold water baths (frigidarium) which were intended to be used in succession. Massages were offered and then as now, the masses and aristocrats were concerned with their appearances. Cosmetics and unguents and creams to moisturize or hide the signs of aging and whiten the skin were available. Linseed was applied to shine the nails and a mix of honey and oats polished the teeth while laurel leaves could be chewed to freshen breath.

cold water pool, part of the public baths

And what’s a society without its intoxicants? The Romans were egalitarian in the use of wine and, regardless of class, wine was served along with bread and salt at every meal. Structures of a wine making facility were found in the ruins along with vats for fermentation, a wine-press and even a wine cellar. The wine was produced in great quantities and, while considered an unimpressive, inexpensive wine, it was suitable for export and became a staple in the western Mediterranean.

wine factory with holes for vats

Christian carving

Towards the end of our tour, well into our third hour of roaming the walkways and as our energy began flagging we came upon the ruins of a 4th century residence of an early bishop of the Christian Church. As the Roman Empire declined the new religion of Christianity gained in popularity until, by the fourth century, Christianity was Barcino’s official religion as well as entwined in its political life. Evidence of a small necropolis exists and there’s a display of several pieces of sarcophagi decorated with Christian motifs, some originating from Rome. Additional renovations in the sixth century changed the bishop’s residence into a grander palace, added a new church and show a religion gaining in influence, power and wealth. Lastly we admired the remains of intricate tiled mosaic floors and the remnants of some of the remarkable paintings that decorated the ceiling of the baptistery and walls of the episcopal hall.

mosaic tiles from Christian palace

It was rather disorienting to climb out of our subterranean time capsule and surface into the 21st century sunshine. Maybe what was more unreal was that we emerged in the midst of Barcelona’s Gothic quarter, another chapter of architecture, artistry, religion and history. What a magnificent city!

53 comments

Isn’t it amazing that no matter how much time you spend in a place, or how many times you return, there’s always something new to discover? Love this! Thanks for linking up with #wkendtravelinspiration!

The ruins of Barcino and museum are easy to miss even when you’re looking for them! We had a great time visiting and learning about the Roman city and, hopefully, you’ll get a chance to see it on a return trip.

Maybe part of the great enchantment of Barcelona is that the city leaves everyone who visits her with the feeling that there’s more to discover. We already know that we won’t get a chance to see all that we’d hoped and will have to plan a return trip. The lady keeps beckoning those who love her back…

Luckily, we’ve been able to spend several weeks exploring Barcelona. We agree that it’s a magnificent city and we know, even though we’ve been here for awhile we’ll still be leaving with a list of things left to explore.

I’m sorry I missed seeing this; it sounds fascinating! Your description of the layers of history reminds me of Jerusalem, where the ages are all piled up in the same way: biblical, Roman, Christian, Muslim, and modern all jumbled together.

Barcelona is well worth a visit and there’s really something of interest for everyone. I love your description of Jerusalem’s multi-layered history and imagine that the history in Spain in similar with the Romans, Moors, Visigoths and Christians all competing for dominance and supremacy. It’s fascinating to see the conquerors bury or use the rubble from the old and vanquished civilizations to create their own cities and places to worship.

Its truly astounding how much history surrounds us here and it seems that each area in Barcelona has a famous landmark, story, artist, building, etc. I truly think we could be here for months and not get tired of this amazing city!

We’re so glad you enjoyed our tour of Barcino, Jo. Spain has such an interesting and you’re right, gory history, that we’ve had a terrific time exploring, reading and learning more, more. more. Europe could be addicting!

We are totally enthralled with our introduction to Europe and are really pleased that we started our travels in Barcelona, Spain. The history from ancient to modern times is fascinating and we’re having a great time learning about all the different facets that make this city so unique!

Barcelona really could be compared to an onion as one peels back the many layers and explores its ancient history from Roman to medieval times as well as the modern conflicts of the Spanish Civil War and WWII. Add a vibrant architectural, art and music scene from yesterday and today as well as the enthusiastic sports culture and this city really can appeal to anyone who loves city living!

We’d love to see this area of Spain as Malaga is even older than Barcelona. We have to agree with you that the architecture, ruins, history and culture make this Spain so intriguing and a place that we’ll want to visit and explore many times more.

I think that the ruins of Barcino have a lot of sights to compete with in Barcelona so it’s easy for them to get overshadowed. Since we’re huge history buffs it seemed like a very logical step to begin our explorations at the beginning of time, so-to-speak!

Thanks, Yasha. As we read the comments that we’ve received it looks like your sentiment to revisit Barcelona is echoed by a lot of people. I think that this magnificent city really does have something for everyone!

I love Barcelona! Last year when I visited for the first time, I met a retired gentleman who showed me around the Barri Gotic district but I never did get back to the Museum of History for a visit. I did go to the El Born Cultural Centre and enjoyed reading about the history of the area. Must return to Barcelona, so much to see! Thank you much for your virtual tour of the Museum of History in Barcelona!

Barcelona is a city that captures your heart, isn’t it? How lucky you are to have your own tour guide through the narrow and winding streets of the Gothic Quarter. That area alone is worth a couple of days to explore the excellent museums, learn about the history and culture and just count gargoyles!

We started out with a long list of things that we wanted to do and see here in Barcelona and, although we’ve crossed some things off, we’ve ended up adding many new things too. Barcelona and the surrounding areas have so many things to do and see that we’re already planning to come back!

I really enjoyed our stroll through this underground museum city, so impressive to think of all that went on here, just a few meters below the surface of modern-day Barcelona. Great pictures and description!

Thanks, Anita. It is so amazing to see of these well preserved and extensive Roman ruins below the more “modern” Gothic Quarter and to think of them being uncovered by chance. So much history in so many layers…

We tend to lose track of time when we find a great museum like this one. The area that the ancient city ruins of Barcino covers is quite large and we spent over three hours listening to the very informative audio tour, reading the info plaques and walking around admiring the ruins which are so well preserved. And we have to agree, the Gothic quarter really stands out in this fabulous city!

We wished we would have had time to visit this museum in depth on our tour of Barri Gotic. As it was, we were able to see the four columns of the temple around which more modern (medieval) buildings were placed. Thanks for taking us inside! 🙂

It’s interesting to see how the four columns and other Roman ruins were incorporated into the later Visigoth and medieval “modern” buildings while other parts of Barcino ended up buried. How a amazing to have a visible time line to understand the civilizations that spanned the centuries in the Barcelona area!

There’s so much to see in this city that I can see why you may have missed it! However, even though it’s out of sight and underground it’s well worth the visit and we hope you get a chance to see it when you stay in Barcelona again.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting on our blog. The tour of the underground city of Barcino was fascinating and to learn about and get a glimpse into the lives of people from a civilization from 2000 years ago is a fun way to learn about long ago history.

Have you guys tried the pinxos in Barcelona? They’re the slices of baguette with different toppings and toothpicks in them. You just select the ones you want and pay at the end according to how many toothpicks are on your plate. So fun and yummy!